The January, 1945 issue of Moody Monthly documents the advice given by a resigning pastor to his congregation about how to pick his successor. His advice underscores the importance of ‘expository’ Bible preaching compared to those preachers who preach on one or two isolated Bible verses (Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Bill Hybels, and maybe even your local pastor). Here is the quote:
“Do not choose a man who always preaches on isolated texts, I care not how powerful and eloquent he may be. The effect of his eloquence will be to banish a taste for the Word of God and substitute a taste for the preacher in its place.”
This quote is a wonderful parallel to the advice that the Apostle Paul gave to Pastor Timothy.
2 Tim. 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Pray that the Lord will send us shepherds that will again feed us God’s Word instead of this current diet of self-help and prosperity preaching.
Chris,.
We should even go further from expository for one can hear an expository preaching and miss Christ - Law and Gospel.
It is so nice to see Law and Gospel exposed in a passage. I once heard an expositiory sermon on Romans 13. I walked away still empty for there was no relation to Christ that was brought forth, but the exposition was fine and interesting.
Lito
Posted by: Lito Cruz | May 18, 2007 at 03:41 AM